Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B)
"Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B)," is the second of a two part case but may also be taught on its own. In May 2013, European Union Trade Commissioner, Karel De Gucht faced a career defining choice. Soon, he would have to announce a decision on the EU's biggest anti-dumping case, initiated by a group of European solar panel makers against Chinese manufacturers. De Gucht was aware that imposing tariffs on Chinese solar companies could set off a wider trade war between two of the world's largest economies. Part B of the case highlights the tensions between the E.U. and China on sale of solar panels, echoing the politically charged solar battles between the U.S. and China in 2012. The negotiated solar trade settlement between the E.U. and China offers insights into the political realities behind industrial policies, action on climate change, and free trade. Case number 2008.0
Swot Analysis of "Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B)" written by Robert Lawrence, Anjani Datla includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Solar Trade facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Policy, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing commodity prices,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Solar Trade, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Solar Trade operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Solar Trade
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Solar Trade
Strengths Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Solar Trade in Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Solar Trade has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Solar Trade to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Solar Trade is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Solar Trade in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Solar Trade to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Solar Trade to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Solar Trade is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Solar Trade is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Solar Trade is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Solar Trade has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Analytics focus
– Solar Trade is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Robert Lawrence, Anjani Datla can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Training and development
– Solar Trade has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Solar Trade is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Diverse revenue streams
– Solar Trade is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Solar Trade in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Solar Trade has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Weaknesses Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Solar Trade has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Solar Trade has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Solar Trade even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Need for greater diversity
– Solar Trade has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Solar Trade supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Solar Trade vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B), it seems that the employees of Solar Trade don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Solar Trade has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B), in the dynamic environment Solar Trade has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Solar Trade has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Solar Trade has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Solar Trade is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Solar Trade needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Solar Trade to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Solar Trade has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Opportunities Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Solar Trade to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Solar Trade to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Solar Trade can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Leadership & Managing People segment.
Manufacturing automation
– Solar Trade can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Solar Trade can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Solar Trade in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Solar Trade is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Solar Trade has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Solar Trade to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) case study. Solar Trade can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Solar Trade can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Solar Trade to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Solar Trade can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Solar Trade in the consumer business. Now Solar Trade can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Solar Trade can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Solar Trade can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Solar Trade can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Threats Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) are -
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Solar Trade can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Solar Trade demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Solar Trade with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Solar Trade in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Solar Trade is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Solar Trade high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B), Solar Trade may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Solar Trade can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Solar Trade business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Solar Trade needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Solar Trade.
Environmental challenges
– Solar Trade needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Solar Trade can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Solar Trade can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Shaping the Future of Solar Power: Climate Change, Industrial Policy and Free Trade (Part B) is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Solar Trade needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
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